Milk & Honey Ciders Releases Estate & Pommeau

Milk & Honey Ciders in St. Joseph, Minnesota has announced the release of two new ciders called Pommeau and Estate. Full details are below.

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — A two-year exploration of the breadth of the cider category has finally come to fruition in two 750ml bottles: Pommeau and Estate.

Crafted in the traditional French style, Milk & Honey Ciders’ Pommeau blends the fresh-pressed juice of Newtown Pippins, Golden Russets, and Chestnut crab apples with apple brandy that was distilled in partnership with Tattersall Distilling and bourbon barrel-aged for 18 months. From there, the liquid was aged for an additional year, resulting in an alcoholic strength of 22%.

The drinking experience of Pommeau provides a warm, spirituous sensation that alerts the senses to notes of carmel, oak spice, cherry, and dried fruit. It is best served as an aperitif, chilled and neat, and makes a lovely complement to soft cheese, foie gras, and rich desserts.

Also recently released was Estate, produced using fruit harvested in 2019 from Milk & Honey Ciders’ orchard in Cold Spring, MN. Estate is naturally fermented by the native yeasts found in the orchard, and captures the unique character and terroir of the growing season. Dry and well balanced with low acidity, Estate boasts a soft palate and finishes at 8.4% abv.

“Despite the challenges that this year has brought, we are inspired by the excitement around these releases to continue to explore everything the cider category has to offer,” says Milk & Honey Ciders co-founder Aaron Klocker. “An apple is Minnesota’s state fruit and it’s important to celebrate that. We’re striving to put Minnesota on the map as a cider destination.”

Klocker and fellow co-founders Adam Theis and Peter Gillitzer have been dreaming of creating a Pommeau and estate-grown cider since planning their business in 2011. Gillitzer commented: “Apple-based beverages have a lot of history, and we feel honored to be able to revisit these historical beverages and bring them to local consumers.”